Forage Heritage Starter This sourdough starter was cultured by Forage’s Executive Chef Welbert Choi when Forage first opened in 2012. Chef Choi carefully nurtured this starter from strains of wild . Every loaf of sourdough ever baked in the Forage kitchen has come from this starter, and you can now continue this tradition at home. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Instructions for Use

Wake the starter: This sourdough starter has been dehydrated and put into a dormant state. When you are ready to revive this starter, place the entire bag (30 g) in a jar (at least 500 ml in size) and add 60 g of lukewarm . Stir well and let sit for 30 minutes to rehydrate.

First feeding: After 30 minutes add 30 g of unbleached all-purpose , or bread flour. Cover lightly with something breathable (a coffee filter secured with an elastic band works well for this) and place it somewhere warm. You want it to be somewhere around 32 C to revive quickly.

Let it rest: The starter will take about 24 hours to come back to life, at this point you should see a few bubbles starting to form.

Second feeding: After about 24 hours, or once you see the bubbles starting, add 30 g flour and 30 g lukewarm water, stir to combine. Cover and put back in its warm spot.

Third feeding: After another 24 hours add another 30 g flour and another 30 g lukewarm water, stir again, cover again, and put back in warm spot. You will see the starter rise and fall as it bubbles and slows down over the course of its feedings, this is very normal.

Fourth feeding: At this point your starter should be very active. Discard all but 120 g of the starter and add 120 g flour and 120 g lukewarm water. Stir and set back in a warm place. At this point your starter should be growing and expanding very quickly. Within 3-12 hours it should have tripled in size and become very active, it’s now ready to bake with.

Temperature and time: There is no set length of time for this process, at 28-32C I should take about 4 days, but it can take longer depending on temperature. Microbe activity peaks at 34C, so fermenting your starter at 32C helps the process along. At 21C the activity of the microbes will be roughly cut in half, thus taking twice as long.

Maintenance: Once your starter is fully revived you can store it in the fridge and feed it only once a week (discard to 120g and feed with 120 g flour and 120 g water.) When you want to bake with it, pull it out 24 hours in advance to wake it up.

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No-Stress Sourdough Bread

This is a good recipe to try if you are nervous about sourdough for the first time. It uses additional active dry , which will ensure your bread rises and allows you the freedom to bake delicious sourdough bread quickly.

Ingredients:

• 100 g active (fed) starter • 550 g of bread flour (or AP flour) • 40 g whole wheat flour • 350 g water (approximately) • 15 g sea • 7 g active dry yeast

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together starter, and water. Mix just to combine, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. After 20 minutes add yeast and salt, mix to form a . Once dough is formed, place on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Form into ball, place into lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let dough rise until it’s doubled in size, about 30-60 minutes depending on room temperature.

3. Remove dough from bowl and place on floured surface. Stretch and pull the dough gently, shape into a ball. Leave dough on counter, cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

4. Shape your dough again, gently pulling to tighten the dough. Gently pick up the ball of dough and place on a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with damp tea towel. Let rise for 30-60 minutes depending on room temperature.

5. Pre-heat to 450 F, place dough into oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 and continue to bake for until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 205 F – approximately 20-30 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy!

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Natural Sourdough Bread

This recipe relies entirely on your starter for leavening, it takes much longer to make than bread made with additional commercial yeast, but the extended time enhances the flavours and creates a loaf with a much more complex flavour profile. Well worth the effort.

Ingredients:

• 350 g active (fed) starter • 480 g of bread flour (or AP flour) • 70 g whole wheat flour • 310 g water (approximately) • 15 g sea salt

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together starter, flours and water. Mix just to combine, cover and let sit for 20 minutes.

2. After 20 minutes add salt, mix to form a dough. Once dough is formed, place on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Form into ball, place into lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Let dough rise for about 60 minutes.

3. Remove dough from bowl and place on floured surface, fold in half, rotate 90 degrees and fold in half again. Return to bowl, cover, and let rise again for about 60 more minutes.

4. Put dough on lightly floured surface and gently shape into a ball. Let rest for 20 minutes.

5. After the rest period, stretch and pull the dough gently, shaping the ball. Place into proofing basket and cover, or gently place dough onto lightly floured baking sheet and cover. Let it rise until light and airy, around 2.5 hours to 5 hours depending on your room temperature.

6. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 450 F, place dough into oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 and continue to bake for until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 205 F – approximately 20-30 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy!

foragevacouver.com | @foragevancouver | #foragesourdough